The U.S. Department of Energy has announced plans to provide $28 million in grants to seven proposed offshore wind projects, a financial commitment the Obama administration hopes will provide a boost to a green energy sector that has yet to gain a foothold in American waters.

Each of the seven projects — located in Maine, New (more…)

One of the business plans I support is a breakthrough in wind turbine construction, essentially rooted on getting the same production as today’s design, while using significantly less materials, thus cutting costs substantially. But in my quest to help them raise the investment capital they need to move forward, I’m running into investors who are unsure of (more…)

Clean energy innovation in the United States is moving to financially friendlier shores—like China

Looking at 2011 VC investment figures, it seems like the cleantech industry in the United States is doing just fine. According to the Cleantech Group, a market intelligence advisory group based in San Francisco (more…)

Electricity produced by wind energy in the U.S. now equals the output of 11 nuclear power plants, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association, a trade organization.

As congressional leaders consider the extension of a tax credit for the emerging wind energy sector, the (more…)

Economics, politics, grid constraints, and a fair amount of luck have set in motion an awkward relationship between the natural gas and cleantech industries that could be characterized as “frenemies with benefits.” My colleagues Kerry-Ann Adamson and Mackinnon Lawrence have already shared their views on this complex dynamic, and their outlooks (more…)

Another year, another wringing of the hands over tax credits and incentives for clean technology.

Lobbyists and vendors in the U.S. are once again singing the blues, calling for continued and expanding government investments in clean technology. At the same time, political challengers continue their Solyndra hootenanny, (more…)

Europe has been operating huge wind turbines offshore for more than a decade, while here in the U.S., this cutting edge clean technology seems perennially “five years off.”

The infamous project proposed offshore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts has been under deliberation for more than 10 years. During that time, Denmark, (more…)

The American Wind Energy Association has just released its 2011 Annual Market Report, which shows the period registered double-digit growth. The market report highlights how market certainty has been key to the creation of a “positive feedback loop” which allowed for states to generate affordable wind power electricity at record levels. (more…)

It’s not every day that you’ll find me agreeing with an executive from BP, but Katrina Landis, the CEO of BP’s Alternative Energy division, was exactly right when she said last month that it would be a mistake to allow the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) to expire at the end of this year: “It’s a really compelling case of the government incentivizing (more…)

Nearing grid parity, wind industry wants to “finish the job”

As much as they wished otherwise, the seemingly annual rite whereby the wind industry trots out all those nifty pie charts and bar graphs explaining why extending the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy (PTC) makes good sense is once again upon us. (more…)